Early errors cost Legion
Legion Post 77 third baseman Mitch Seykora throws the ball to second base in an attempt to set up a double play. Post 77 lost 10-7 to Stewartville after allowing seven runs with four errors in the first inning. Staff photo by Johnnie Phillips
Owatonna’s Legion Post 77 baseball team lost 10-7 to Stewartville on Sunday, after a seven-run top of the first inning for the visitors set Post 77 behind by a wide margin.
A mixture of hits and errors plagued Owatonna in the first as starting pitcher Carson Olson allowed five hits for eight total runs, with only three of them earned due to four errors in the field.
“It should have been a much tighter game. The first inning was just a really bad one for us. Granted they had a couple of big hits, but we did hang in there and make it a game. We just couldn’t get those last few hits we needed in big spots,” said Post 77 head coach Tate Cummins.
Post 77 managed to secure three runs in the bottom of the first inning to cut the deficit nearly in half thanks to RBIs from first baseman Teagun Ahrens, centerfielder Briley Highfield, and shortstop Ayden Walter.
Olson’s night on the mound ended quickly in the second inning after a leadoff home run for Stewartville moved the score to 8-3, bringing relief pitcher Connor Wiese into the game.
Wiese was effective at stopping the bleeding and held the opposition scoreless the rest of the inning.
However, after Owatonna was silenced again in the bottom of the second, Stewartville managed to find two more runs after a base hit and a throwing error brought two more runners across the plate.
The visitors’ two runs in the third would go on to be their last and bring the score to 10-3.
Owatonna was kept scoreless in the third and fourth before getting back on the scoreboard in the fifth inning after Walter walked with the bases loaded to bring home Ahrens from third.
Post 77’s score in the fifth sparked an even bigger sixth inning where the squad put up three more runs to make the game 10-7.
Control issues for Stewartville’s pitcher brought home another walked-in run to start the inning before Walter laced a line drive right down the left field line to score two more runs and put Post 77 in striking distance with the tying run at the plate.
Unfortunately for Owatonna, the team could not find the hits it needed and once again stranded multiple baserunners at the end of the inning.
After a scoreless seventh, Stewartville would ultimately come out on top 10-7.
Walter led Owatonna offensively with one hit and four RBIs on the night, while Wiese was excellent in relief, pitching five innings and allowing one earned run.
Post 77 will travel to Bell Field to play Faribault next on Thursday, July 13 at 7 p.m.